iPhone, iPad tracking causes alarm

SAN FRANCISCO - Privacy watchdogs are demanding answers from Apple about why iPhones and iPads are collecting location data about their users.

The most recent dust-up, prompted by a report at a technology conference in Santa Clara, Calif., raises questions about how much privacy consumers surrender by carrying around a smartphone and the responsibility of the smartphone makers to protect sensitive datathat flows through their devices.

Researchers emphasize that there's no evidence that Apple Inc. itself has access to this data - it apparently stays on the device itself and the computers the data is backed up to.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.